Night vision goggles case ends

An Iranian national accused of trying to illegally export U.S. military night vision goggles to Iran is expected to be released from custody within days after striking a last-minute deal with federal prosecutors.

Shahrazad Mir Gholikhan, 30, has been imprisoned since December, when she voluntarily traveled to South Florida and surrendered to U.S. authorities.

She pleaded guilty Friday morning in Fort Lauderdale federal court to one count of conspiring to illegally export military goods.

Federal sentencing guidelines recommend a prison term of six months or less, and U.S. District Judge James Cohn sentenced Gholikhan to time served.

Attorney William Barzee, who represents Gholikhan, called the outcome "an incredible win."

"She feels completely vindicated," Barzee said. "She said all along the only thing she did was get hoodwinked into acting as a translator at one meeting. The government finally capitulated and dismissed all the other charges."

Prosecutor Michael Walleisa declined to comment. After her release, Gholikhan will be transferred to immigration custody. Barzee said she did not want to return to Iran and would seek admission to Cyprus, where she lived before turning herself in.

Gholikhan, who has twin 11-year-old daughters in Tehran, speaks fluent English and received an M.B.A. in Dubai. During court proceedings, she displayed a mix of defiance and optimism, often casting a fierce stare toward the prosecution table.

She had been set for trial Monday on multiple counts of conspiracy, money laundering and trade violations stemming from an alleged plot to purchase thousands of Generation III military night vision goggles for the government of Iran.

In pleading guilty, Gholikhan admitted only that she served as a translator at a November 2004 meeting in Vienna, Austria. At the meeting, prosecutors allege Gholikhan's ex-husband accepted a sample pair of night vision goggles from an undercover informant working for the Department of Homeland Security.

U.S. law bans the sale of military-grade night vision goggles without a license and prohibits all exports to Iran.

The case is one of a string of recent prosecutions involving the illegal export of sensitive military items. The night vision goggles used by U.S. troops are so tightly controlled - and so coveted by foreign governments - Walleisa said he would not have been permitted to bring a pair to court had the trial gone forward.

Before arriving at the plea deal, Walleisa said he could tie Gholikhan to incriminating phone calls; in those calls, she acknowledged trying to obtain the goggles for Iran, he said.

However, Walleisa had also raised concerns that proceeding to trial against Gholikhan could compromise the identities of undercover operatives involved in ongoing investigations.

Gholikhan and her ex-husband, Mahmoud Seif, were arrested by Austrian police as they left the Vienna meeting and charged with violating export laws. U.S. officials said the arrests had thwarted a plot to supply the Iranian military with advanced night vision technology.

"In the wrong hands, these night-vision systems pose a threat to our troops around the world," Michael Garcia, then-chief of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, stated in a 2004 press release.

In 2005, a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale indicted Gholikhan and Seif, who had since been released from Austrian custody. However, efforts to extradite them to the United States failed. The case was prosecuted in Broward County because the agents who conducted the investigation were based in South Florida.

Aware of the international warrant for her arrest, Gholikhan contacted the U.S. government about resolving her case and agreed to come to the United States to face the charges. Seif and another defendant remain at large.

Vanessa Blum can be reached at vbblum@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4605.